{"id":10826,"date":"2015-06-26T13:08:26","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T20:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=10826"},"modified":"2015-06-26T14:25:02","modified_gmt":"2015-06-26T21:25:02","slug":"the-poor-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2015\/06\/26\/the-poor-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The Poor with Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soup-Bowl-Sculpture-1300\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are a couple of pages from my Italy sketchbook, (above) a statue in stone, a tribute to one of our brothers, and (below) from a photo I snapped of the most exuberant beggar I’ve ever come across. (Click on the drawings for a larger view.)<\/h6>\n

I shouldn’t have been surprised with beggars on the streets, their hands out, or small cups, as we toured Rome, Florence and Venice. Actually there were fewer in Venice, that being an expensive place to live, and requiring a boat fare to get there. What I did find somewhat surprising, however, and a little disturbing, was how so few gave them any notice.<\/p>\n

We tourists were there in throngs. Many of the places were\u00a0like a crowded day at Disneyland. We didn’t mind. These cities are wonderful and it’s no surprise that so many have spent so much to get there, to stay in nice hotels, and lavish upon ourselves super great meals. It was all so worth it.<\/p>\n

But how is it so few had anything to spare for those among us at the bottom of the ladder?<\/p>\n

I’m not saying I did so well; but I tried to have at least something for maybe two-thirds of those I encountered (or encountered me). God knows if I’m exaggerating this; I might be. But, in fact, in the whole three weeks I only saw one person, a woman, double back and put a coin into a sidewalk beggar’s cup.<\/p>\n

What’s with all the rest of us?<\/p>\n

It’s not like we’re not rich. By comparison to this lot, we’re super-so. I don’t get it.<\/p>\n

When we lived in Guatemala years ago I developed the habit of never going out without some coins in my pocket for such need. They’re just coins, sort of a nuisance in the pocket anyway, why not spare them? On this trip, there was a time or two the recipient would look into the cup for what I put in and be pretty unimpressed. I could judge his lack of gratitude, but I’m afraid his judgment of me would have better basis.<\/p>\n

I know we get suspicious of these folk, think they’re somehow deceiving us, taking advantage of our naivet\u00e9. It may be so sometimes, but so be that. Let God be the judge.<\/p>\n

One of the students from the art school we were traveling with mentioned how he had been prevailed upon for a\u00a0hand out and wondered if he should have given . . . if he was only encouraging such lifestyle. I suggested to him that neither he, or any of us, would change these things by holding back. But sensing a hint of a soft heart on his part, the next morning I gave him a small handful of change and told him to give it away by the end of the day.<\/p>\n

That night I saw him and asked how it went. He gave a few details, including some questionable characters, but it was all with a smile.<\/p>\n

Maybe on God’s face, too.<\/p>\n

As I thought about it later, it may be that God is putting change (or dollars, or very many dollars) into our hands, in part, to see how we might distribute at least some of it among the rest of his children.<\/p>\n

It’s a thought.<\/p>\n

_________<\/p>\n

PS Not that it will have anything to do with the above subject, but I will be speaking this Sunday. That’s at Heritage Christian Fellowship in San Clemente, 9:00 and 11:00. All invited.<\/p>\n

\"Happy-Begger-1300\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were told the poor we’d always have with us. What to do about it was supposedly obvious. But maybe not so much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10826"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10826"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10848,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10826\/revisions\/10848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}